Just need to talk?
UK: Childline on
0800 1111
US: Trevor Project on
866 488 7386
|
Topic: Nature or Nurture
Posts
 |
 |
So in Biology I was in a debate with a friend of mine about how the media affects the sexuality of children of a young age. Basically his theory is that exposing pornography, LGBT relationships etc. could have an effect on young children's (3-6) sexuality.
This got me thinking. Are we born LGBT? Or does it get infused into us over time? 
I'm a Loiner, apparently...
|
|
Post: #434300  , Tue 26 Oct 10, 9:05AM |
|
|
It sounds very absolute, but I really don't think that nurture concretely affects sexuality. Certainly, environment will affect people's willingness to come out, or even to accept or acknowledge their own sexuality, but it feels to me more a matter of genetics than the way in which people are raised.
I think that if anything, the difference nurture makes is whether or not we ever come to terms with our sexuality. For many people, myself included, there was definite attraction to the opposite gender before becoming completely gay - in my own opinion, this is where nurture comes into it. If people grow up with societal expectations of heterosexuality and heteronormality, they're more likely to adopt that frame of mind from the outset, and potentially carry it with them into later life regardless of innate homosexuality.
But of course, I'm no scientist. Far from claiming I'm right, that's only personal opinion, and I'm sure there are people far more qualified to make such a judgement than I am. For what it's worth, it doesn't really matter to me - even if incontrovertible links with elements of nurture were found, I'd never raise my children any differently than I otherwise would, either in favour of or against homosexuality. We are what we are - for me, how we got there (in a scientific manner, at least) is less important.
~Queen of Hearts, Co-King of Tommania-Kodanbourg, Overlord of the Inconceivable Castle, Trader in Wits, Sarcasms and Paradoxes, Somewhat-less-dashing Co-host of TADTARSFAHWYEB, Unicorn-narwhal-lawyer, Pink Marshmallow, PolsGeek, The Law
Also: LYNN IS ADORABLE!
|
|
Post: #434302 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 9:26AM |
|
|
I've never looked at it like that before! And now I realise that a long time before I aknowledged I'm gay for the first time I really liked guys! You're very wise 
I'm a Loiner, apparently...
|
|
Post: #434304 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 9:44AM |
|
|
I'm pretty much with Tom here. To me, nature is us and always will be, there's not much we can do about it and even if somehow a person changed their ways, they'd always crave to revert back to their original nature on some level.
To me nurture is how we react to/deal with/live with our nature. It applies for anything, not just sexuality, therefore if a child is brought up against his or her nature, they're likely to have a harder time accepting themselves and a negative attitude towards it and vice versa.
I'm a ratfish trying to practice doing back flips on your mattress.
|
|
Post: #434309 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 10:56AM |
|
|
:: drewbee94
:: QA5 Having the neighbours round | |
So, if your friend is saying, is that if you show a kid enough gay porn he will be a raging homosexual.  But I agree with tom and everyone elsep I've always liked guys, and just came to terms with it. Thats where people get confused sometimes-some seem to assume that moment or time of acceptance is a straight transition from straight to not straight.
Dashing co-host of TADTARSFAHWYEB, Arch-Nerd of the Two and the master of So.
And thats how Drew, C's it!
|
|
Edit: drewbee94, Tue 26 Oct 10, 11:22AM
Post: #434313 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 11:09AM |
|
|
I shall be reporting back to Luke and smite his theoires of all things gay forever! 
I'm a Loiner, apparently...
|
|
Post: #434355 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 5:32PM |
|
|
I think my mate Tom just about summed it up.
I wasn't raised around like, sexy females (although I did have mirror - kidding,) or any sort of anything promoting homosexuality whatsoever. I didn't know what it was. I wasn't aware of anything regarding sex or attraction until I was like 7.
I mean, obviously I grew up in a household where my mom liked men, and my dad liked women (specifically eachother.) I knew men and women were, I guess, meant to be together.
I wasn't completely aware that same-sex comradery alone went on.
As a kid, at that age, I guess already I was a bit... "Homo". I never wanted to play with a Barbie, I played with Hot Wheels. I didn't collect Beanie Babies, I collected dead bugs.
That wasn't my parents doing, though. They initially gave me dolls, and dressed me in pink. I, at that young age, was aware that wasn't what I wanted. I mean, again, that doesn't mean I knew I wanted to love girls, that's not what it's about.
No one told me that I was living my life wrong (at that point.)
No one stopped me and said "Hey, you can't climb trees with the guys anymore, little girls should play House in the plastic fort," Or, whatever. No one "nurtured me" one way or another.
I think I was just born with a higher testosterone level than other females.
|
|
Edit: JULIEisGAY, Tue 26 Oct 10, 7:21PM
Post: #434367 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 7:19PM |
|
|
I think based on the fact that we come from such diverse backgrounds, we can safely assume that homosexuality is based on nature.
You would have a hard time connecting my upbringing to that of someone whose parents are conservative, evangelical Christians.
|
|
Post: #434368 , Tue 26 Oct 10, 7:22PM |
|
|
So in other words Daryl, you and I are completely different. I was raised in a conservative, evangelical Christian family (with strong southern Baptist ties).
If it is nurture, then I should be a raging homophobe. I always wanted to play with Barbie and play house with my friends (I also did like climbing trees) but my parents tried to stop that. But I am still gay....I think the only way that affected me was when I realized my attraction to guys was what they called gay. I started noticing guys in like 5th or 6th grade...but I didn't realize I was gay until the end of my Sophomore year of high school....and didn't accept it until my freshman/sophomore year of college.
So I would agree with the general consensus of this post.
|
|
Post: #434563 , Wed 27 Oct 10, 11:12AM |
|
|
I believe that we are born LGBT. But, I will admit, my little brother used to pretend he was gay because of things on TV. But he was 3 so.........IDK. I don't know how to reply to this. 
"I don't miss you, I miss the person I thought you were"
|
|
Post: #434590 , Wed 27 Oct 10, 2:47PM |
|
|
There is like, nothing to add at this point. I'll chuck in my two cents anyways.
My nurture wasn't one way or the other. My parents tried to keep relationship stuff from me and I didn't come in contact with anything of any sexual nature until I was twelve, and even then I wasn't interested. The books I read all were heterosexual in nature (Note: Harry Potter) and so were the shows (Spongebob, Tokyo MewMew, etc). I didn't get discouraged from climbing trees or from playing with stuffed animals, and other than getting frustrated when I chose blatantly male clothes, my parents didn't mind what I wore. The only thing I can think of that would have affected me in that time period was my best friend, who gave me my first kiss when I was six (and she was twelve; she was attempting to teach me what a French kiss was and it was sloppy lol ) but I was admittedly, too young to understand and it's usually pushed towards the back of my mind.
After I started realizing I liked both girls and guys and being told it was wrong, basically, I forced it down. I live in a homophobic community. My aunt inadvertently scared me when explaining Jehovah's Witness stuff to me because even if I wasn't admitting it to myself, I knew I liked girls too. And then, over this summer, I realized I wanted to become a Jehovah's Witness too when I understood it more, and then felt guilty because I shouldn't be turned on by girls, only guys.
By that definition, I should be straight and like dressing normally. But I don't And that's okay now that I've accepted that
But yeah. Nature, not Nurture.
Hi! |
|
Post: #434591 , Wed 27 Oct 10, 2:48PM |
|
|
i'm definitely on the nature side.
but think, if there is a 'gay gene' that gets passed down, surely it makes no evolutionary sense? if everyone was gay, then the species couldn't continue?
|
|
Post: #434626 , Wed 27 Oct 10, 7:40PM |
|
|
I've read some pretty interesting reports on this kind of stuff... just google it (I think I may have typed 'gay gene', dunno though), and you can learn a lot
|
|
Post: #434627 , Wed 27 Oct 10, 7:44PM |
|
|
@rosie: from what I understand, genes are either dominant or recessive. If there is a gay gene the same principle would probably apply, meaning those with the dominant version of those genes would turn out homosexual and those with recessive would turn out heterosexual. Other variations (denominations?) of sexuality would be decided by the order and nature of those genes (for example, bisexuals might have one dominant, one recessive). I think it makes evolutionary sense, though I could be wrong.
I'm going by high school biology lessons which I left behind years ago, so I wouldn't take this information as solid fact, more a speculation.
Honestly though, I don't think any one set of genes carries sexuality. I think it would have to be a complex thing involving several sets.
I'm a ratfish trying to practice doing back flips on your mattress.
|
|
Edit: 9thEcho, Wed 27 Oct 10, 7:49PM
Post: #434630 , Wed 27 Oct 10, 7:48PM |
|
|
I believe that our sexual orientation is a result of all the little things we are exposed to in the process of growing up. Sexuality doesn't necessarily have to be provoked by social media, but that does play a role.
Think before you speak, and speak before your thoughts escape you. |
|
Post: #667128 , Wed 18 Jul 12, 5:25AM |
|
|
:: JayD
:: QA8 High Householder | |
Ahh, this debate is no longer even a debate. I'm most certainly an interactionist. I definitely latch onto the facts that an open culture is going to allow people to be more open about who they are. With all the heterosexuality we are exposed to, it's a surprise that 6-10 percent of us identify as lgbt as one way or another. Not to mention all the straight guys who enjoy a good blow job from a gay boy now and then. Psychologists suggest easy access plays into this phenomenon. - http://www.bilerico.com/2011/1...ex_with_men.php
Of course, that doesn't make anyone gay just as much as me dating women in middle school even into high school didn't make me straight or attracted to females. I was just mocking the culture and trying not to stick out.
Though, I tend to be an interactionist, meaning that nature feeds nurture and nurture feeds nature, with sexual orientation, I'm a bit more of a determinist. - http://goodasgay.blogspot.com/...pothalamus.html
Here's where I stand on the facts dealing with the hypothalamus. I feel there is definitely a hardwire there that determines sexual orientation. The queer anecdotes reflect this hardwiring when people say, I didn't choose to be this way and that, we were born this way.
Happy readings!!!
I love helping people. If I succeeded consider liking my Good as Gay FB page.
FB page - http://www.facebook.com/goodasgay
Blog -
http://goodasgay.blogspot.com
|
|
Post: #667195 , Wed 18 Jul 12, 4:21PM |
|
|
:: CorrieK
:: QA5 Having the neighbours round | |
I always had the opinion that sexuality was solely genetic, hardwired in you might say, but my mother expressed a thought once that I am gay due to my father's interest (although he's straight - more of scientific curiosity than anything) in homosexuality.
"For a long time I thought I wanted to be a nun. Then I realized that what I really wanted to be was a lesbian."
-Mabel Maney
|
|
Post: #667204 , Wed 18 Jul 12, 4:58PM |
|
|
It's hard to tell, I personally think it's in out nature, I always knew as a child that I had feelings for boys but never really acknowledged it until I was 9 going on 10. But s far as I can remember it has always been there.
Who knows maybe it's both nature and nurture.
What knocks you down in life , can only make you stronger.
|
|
Post: #667211 , Wed 18 Jul 12, 6:07PM |
|
|
 |
 |
LIKE THIS PAGE
|
Who's Online
Last 15 mins: 17 guests, 7 members: AdamP, kingkenny1, Merovingian, xForeverMex, Embraceurself, roflhead, Queerlydearly QA Ethos
Above all else, QA should be a friendly community. Contact us when our Terms are broken.
Events and promos
Check out
The Official QA Blog
|
Not much of a Blogger
That one life-long scar...
Three's A Crowd... or is it?
Lily Helena Knight
Things that grow
Just so.
My new life
Trip to the zoo!
![Drew is gay, indefinitely [Avatar]](images/?img=avatars/11085wee.jpg?i=0){kind=small}
